Readux, an open source software platform developed at Emory University, offers a web-based space to engage with digitized print materials.
The software provides a user-friendly way to publish critical editions as a stand-alone website and to develop interactive classroom projects. Think of it as a digital reading room where you can browse, search, and take notes in rare materials, then click a button to create a website with your personalized edition for personal and professional scholarly use.
This site is running Readux Legacy. The new Readux, launched in 2020, supports interinstitutional collections and features a new mobile-friendly design.
Please contact the Emory Center for Digital Scholarship (ECDS) to learn more.
Collections
The Emory University installation of Readux provides multiple layers of access to digitized versions of materials drawn from collections housed in its archives, including:
- African American literature and travel guides from the 19th century
- Atlanta city guides
- Early Northern European emblem books
- Georgia government documents
- More than 1,200 yellowback novels
All volumes in the collection are accessible as PDFs.
Many volumes in the collection can be read via a page-turner reader, identified by a green “Read Online” button that indicates a book that can also be annotated and published as a website.
The Emory Libraries digitization team is happy to consider requests for materials to be added to the Readux collections. Scholars whose requests are approved should allow at least one month for processing.
User Guide
The Emory University collection in Readux is designed for ready use through an array of platforms. Log in using your existing account with one of these channels:
- Emory credentials
- GitHub
Read
- Download or read in a browser as PDF documents
- Harvest Zotero citations
- Send text to Voyant for web-based text analysis
- Access a page-turner reader with deep-zoom capacity (for “Read Online” volumes)
Annotate
- Embed images, audio, and video in your annotations
- Add citations from your Zotero account
- Use tags to organize your notes
- Link to related pages within a volume
- Share annotations with a group (groups require set up by Readux administrators)
Publish
- Export annotated volume to standalone website built with Jekyll
- Host website for free on GitHub Pages
- Customize website easily
- Store volume data in a TEI file
Partners
Emory University is pleased to partner with other institutions that are interested in using Readux for their own digital repositories.
Current partnerships include:
- The UNC Press, in collaboration with ECDS, is publishing digital critical editions of several hymnals in the ongoing Sounding Spirit project.
- Wayne State University, with the assistance of a Folger Shakespeare Library grant, used its instance of Readux to provide access to collections of Shakespeare folios, historical newspapers, and children’s books.
If you have questions about using Readux or are interested in becoming a partner institution, please contact the Emory Center for Digital Scholarship (ECDS).
